1.2 ARTEMIS | James Sirius Potter

viiii. 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍

nine
the quidditch pitch

        Night time at Hogwarts, especially outside on the grounds, can be creepy. The Forbidden Forest is home to many creatures of all kinds, good or evil. Though it's never been proven before, Artemis is convinced there are werewolves and vampires living in the forest, hidden away to be undetectable. Every few minutes a wolf would howl and Artemis would flinch, the cloak slipping and her shoes treading on the backs of James's heels.

        There was not nearly enough room for two grown humans, one who scraped being six foot and the other a few inches just below, they kept trampling over each other in attempt to walk briskly and quietly down towards the Quidditch pitch where, from what Artemis could see over his shoulder, the most commotion seemed to be.

        Her teeth chattered in the icy nip of the night wind, winter coming in fast. Thankful she was for her wearing her knitted emerald and silver Quidditch jumper, at least her core was somewhat warm, though her feet and toes were growing numb. She wished she'd thought to put on another pair of socks, then again, she hadn't expected to be trapped with James Potter under an invisibility cloak, sneaking around outside in freezing nighttime temperatures, hoping to find out exactly what the first task will be.

        The incline they were travelling down got so steep and slippery with dew, she had to scrunch the material of James's orange coloured Chudley Canons jumper between her fists to make sure she didn't collide with him and send them both tumbling down the hill.

        Hagrid's—the gamekeeper—hug had a dull glow emitting from one of its windows and smoke billowing from the chimney, the smell of something foul reached her nostrils as they tiptoed past with the Quidditch pitch less than a mile in front of them. Their visibility wasn't too great after a light drizzle started to pour down from the heavens, blurring what little vision at night they did have. The crescent moon was so clouded that they had to rely on the white light coming from James's wand. She wondered if the invisibility cloak made the light invisible, too.

        As they neared the Quidditch pitch, she almost didn't recognise it at first, for it had changed a lot so it could provide a decent enough arena for the tournament. The four towers for each of the four Houses had been taken down—or transfigured—and replaced with a stadium surrounded the pitch. Her jaw dropped as she gazed up at how massive it all was. James too stopped walking to stare incredulously up at what might potentially kill them. On the outside there were tents, one or two with orange lights making the material glow, showing that someone important was home and both James and Artemis needed to be extra careful. They were already down seventy-five points.

        "What," Artemis found her voice after forcing herself to look at James instead, "did Cam tell you?"

James, she noticed, had his eyes trained on the tents. His jaw set as he ground his teeth in contemplation. She had to poke him in the ribs to get his attention, to which he cast her a quick glance as if watching the tents was more important. "He overheard his mother speaking to McGonagall last week—her face was in the fireplace or something—and she told McGonagall that the creatures for the first task will be delivered in Halloween. Straight to the Quidditch pitch."

Artemis stared at him. "If we get killed before we even get to do the first task, I will drag you down to hell with me."

For a flicker of a second James grinned at her as if he was more than prepared to accept that challenge. Something sharp and painful tore through her insides that initiated the slow curl of her lips morphing into a shy grin. He said, "I don't plan on going to hell—" when her brows creased, he quickly added, "I plan on haunting the shit out of my family."